VICTORIA, B.C. – In the final women's basketball regular season game ever to be played at the University of Victoria's Ken and Kathy Shields court in McKinnon gymnasium, the Vikes dropped the Trinity Western Spartans 93-58 on Feb. 14. As teams celebrate the graduation of their fifth years, rookie Amira Giannattasio's 31 points tonight showed that the program is in good hands. The Vikes finish the regular season with a 13-7 record to finish fifth in the Pioneers Division and will host a post-season play-in series next weekend against Calgary.
 
Although four Vikes posted double digits, first-year guard Giannattasio was the stand-out player as her offensive efforts allowed her to post a season high in scoring. Playing their final regular season game with the Vikes, fifth-year seniors Jessica Renfrew and Cassandra Goodis also dominated the score sheet, both logging double digits, with 18 and 11 points, respectively. Third year Jenna Bugiardini put up 14 points and had five rebounds.
 
Goodis also added another accolade to her already-impressive list of achievements after five years with the Vikes, breaking the UVic's all-time steals record, which was previously held by Lindsay Anderson. She now posts 274 career steals and is ranked second in the Canada West conference for all-time steals. Last week, Goodis also broke the conference's all-time assists record.
 
For the Spartans, first-year Jessie Brown was the leading scorer, putting 15 points on the scoreboard. Fellow first-year Tessa Ratzlaff followed Brown, with 13 points and nine rebounds. 
 
Giannattasio carried the Vikes in the first quarter, scoring all of her attempts from the field to log 13 points on the scoreboard. The Spartans were unable to slow down the Vikes' offence and trailed 25-11 going into the second.
 
Managing to slow down the Vikes, the Spartans picked up the pace in the second-quarter, thanks to a strong offensive effort by Brown. She posted 13 points to help the Spartans outscore the Vikes 22-16. The Spartans, however, still trailed the Vikes 41-33 heading into half time.
 
In the third, Giannattasio rekindled her first-quarter spark as she used her swiftness on the court to add another 11 points to her tally. In addition to a superior offence, a stronger defensive effort by the Vikes also made it tough for the Spartans to make baskets, only allowing the visitors to post six points. Heading into the final quarter, the Vikes led by thirty points. 
 
The Vikes carried their fast pace on the court to continue to dominate the Spartans in the final quarter and seal the victory 93-58 at the final whistle. Trinity Western finish their 2014-15 record with a 4-16 record.
 
The Vikes had the power of tradition on their side as many familiar faces were in the crowd including former Vikettes basketball coach Kathy Shields, who led the program for 21 years and totalled eight national championships for UVic. Several former players from those national championship teams were also in the stands, while the crowd took a special moment to honour the recent passing of Vikettes head coach Mike Gallo, who led the program prior to Shields.
 
With the home sweep, the Vikes finish fifth in the Pioneers Division and capture hosting rights for the Canada West play-in series next week. The Vikes will host the Calgary Dinos in a best-of-three series next weekend, Feb. 20-22.  Winners of the play-in series will move on to the conference final four, Feb. 27-Mar. 1. Play-in series games will happen Feb. 20 (7 p.m.), Feb. 21 (7 p.m.) and, if necessary on Feb. 22 (2 p.m.). All games will be at McKinnon Gym and will be streamed with live video and stats at uvic.canadawest.tv.
 
SCORING SUMMARY
UVIC : 25-16-28- 24: 93
TWU: 11-22-6-19: 58
 
SCORING LEADERS
UVIC: Amira Giannattasio (31), Jessica Renfrew (18), Jenna Bugiardini (14), Cassandra Goodis (11)
TWU: Jessie Brown (15), Tessa Ratzlaff (13)